"It'll be good to see Chucky, just as long as he doesn't come in and do what he did last time," Ben Wallace said.

Atkins' last visit to The Palace was Nov. 25. He scored 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Washington won in double overtime.
He was released by the Wizards and signed with the Grizzlies this week.
By Chris McCosky

The Pistons will greet a familiar friend tonight, one they hope doesn't act in a familiar way.

Former Pistons point guard Chucky Atkins, with his fourth team since Detroit traded him in 2004, is the newest member of the Memphis Grizzlies, who play the NBA-leading Pistons (35-5) at the Palace tonight.

Atkins arrived in Memphis this week to fill the void left by the injured Damon Stoudamire. Unhappy with his role in Washington, the Wizards agreed to waive Atkins last week, and after he realized he had little chance to land with the team that has his heart -- Detroit -- he signed with Memphis.

What Billups envisioned was two worlds colliding, forming a utopian society. After absorbing all of Larry Brown's lessons about patience, unselfishness and defense, the Pistons were ready for a coach who would allow their individual talents to flourish. Flip Saunders would broaden their horizons and bring a rainbow of colors to their vanilla offense.

With his team trailing by three points with just over three minutes to play, Chauncey Billups scored 10 straight points on four free throws and two three-pointers, willing the Pistons to a 95-89 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Friday at The Palace.

Billups had 16 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter of the Pistons' season-best 10th straight win.

"It doesn't amaze me," said Tayshaun Prince, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. "It doesn't amaze anybody on our team because we know what he's capable of doing."

Rasheed Wallace's plans for fun in the sun might have to be put on hold.

The Indiana Pacers announced that forward Jermaine O'Neal, Wallace's former teammate in Portland, will miss eight weeks because of a groin tear, meaning O'Neal won't be able to make the All-Star Game in Houston February 19.

"It's always been a big thing for fans to vote as far as who they want," said Pistons coach Flip Saunders, who will coach the Eastern Conference team. "Right now, Rasheed was at 600,000 or whatever it was and he's third on the list. I would think that it would be a pretty good reason for him to be the next guy. Not only just because of his votes, but how he's played. Right now he's been the best power forward in the East, how he's played through the first 40 games. You look at what our record is and how he's played. I guess you'd have to give me a reason why he shouldn't be."

Ron Artest wants people to remember some of the good things he did in Indiana, too.

The former Pacers troublemaker started for Sacramento against the Boston Celtics on Friday night, two days after he was traded to the Kings for Peja Stojakovic. Artest scored seven of the Kings' first 15
points and finished with 15, but Boston won 84-74.

"I'm going to play hard. That's all I can do," he said before the game.

"Things that were distractions to my team in the past -- I've learned from my mistakes, and I look forward to those things not happening."

Peja Stojakovic believes the Sacramento Kings traded him to a playoff contender when they sent him to the Indiana Pacers for Ron Artest.

"When I heard it was the Pacers, I was really happy," he said. "It's a great organization, the team is great. I hope I can fit into the system pretty fast."

Stojakovic arrived in Indianapolis on Friday and sat out the Pacers' game against Cleveland. The Pacers decided he won't play until Tuesday's game at Washington. His first home game will be Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Mike Bibby doesn't have anywhere left to go in the Sacramento locker room when he wants to talk about the good ol' days.

When the Kings sent Peja Stojakovic to Indiana in the deal for Ron Artest, it left Bibby as the only remaining player from the teams that won consecutive Pacific Division titles and nearly reached the 2002 NBA Finals.

The core of the team that won an NBA-high 61 games that season gradually was broken up in recent years. Vlade Divac left after the 2003-04 season. Doug Christie was traded away last January, and Chris Webber was sent to Philadelphia a little more than a month later.

It is safe to say that the Grizzlies have seen enough of Chauncey Billups for one season.

The Detroit Pistons' guard and early league MVP candidate floored the Griz again -- this time, tossing in 10 straight points over a 97-second span late in the fourth quarter.

Billups' heroics extinguished a fiery effort by the Grizzlies, who led by a point with 2:27 left, but experienced a string of offensive misfortunes before losing, 95-89, Friday night in The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Perhaps it was fitting that boxing great Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns was in the house. The Grizzlies and Pistons did nothing but exchange powerful blows. But for as long as the Griz stood toe-to-toe with the NBA's best team, they never could knock out the Pistons.

The Grizzlies wanted to make their morning practice lighthearted and fun so the team used a gym at a local high school.

For swingman Shane Battier, that time spent at Country Day High School -- his alma mater -- was special.

"It was fun to go back and show those guys where it all began for me," a beaming Battier said, referring to his teammates. "I remember it like yesterday: We had to wear a coat and tie to school. I had my tie and dress shirt on, shooting jump hooks in the dark about an hour before school. The head master used to get mad at me because I'd come to class sweaty."

The Grizzlies' spirited workout happened amid the decor of Battier's Mr. Basketball and all-state banners, plus three state championship banners hanging on the walls.

Sometimes, the burst can come before halftime, like the night they scored 41 in the second quarter against Atlanta. Other times, it arrives just after the break, like the 33-13 third quarter against Minnesota on Tuesday. Once in awhile, it happens in the waning minutes of a close game, as it did Friday night.

Throughout the Pistons' 10-game winning streak, and in virtually every game this season, they overwhelm the opponent with a flurry of quick baskets and suffocating stops. An explosion of Chauncey Billups points and defensive plays by Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace stopped the hardworking Memphis Grizzlies dead in their tracks during the last four minutes Friday.

Billups scored 10 points during a 12-2 run late in the fourth quarter of a 95-89 win at The Palace.

The Pistons might have an All-Star starter after all - if he's selected and wants to go. Jermaine O'Neal, second among the Eastern Conference forwards in the All-Star balloting, will miss the game with a groin injury.

That opens a spot that coach Flip Saunders believes should go to Rasheed Wallace.

Rasheed got the third most votes at the position in the most recent returns announced by the league, behind LeBron James and O'Neal. Saunders also believes Rasheed should take O'Neal's place in the projected starting lineup on merit.

At the halfway point of the NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts stood 8-0. They had just crushed New England on the road, flicking the biggest monkey off their back as if it were a sand fly.

They ripped through their next five games, and all the while, the NFL hummed with debate: Should the Colts broaden their goals and shoot for the perfect season or keep focused on winning the Super Bowl with the intensity of a laser? We raise this as today's topic because, of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers are instead booked for Detroit as the AFC representative Fooled ya. No, that's not why we brought up the Colts' plight. We bring up the Colts because after the Pistons closed the first half of their NBA season with Friday's win over Memphis to stand at 36-5, they remain firmly on track to become the second 70-game winner in league history.

Which begs the question: Should the Pistons broaden their goals and shoot for a 70-win season or keep focused on winning the NBA title with the intensity of a laser?

Many thought there would be a huge drop off without coach Brown, but Saunders has thrived.
By Chris McCosky

You don't want to be arrogant or smug, but just three months ago, most national pundits were picking the Pistons to finish second in their division and fourth in the conference.

Without Larry Brown's micro-managing, some believed the Pistons would lose their edge. Chauncey Billups would become a ball hog. Rasheed Wallace would become an unmanageable distraction. Ben Wallace would become old. With the offensive-minded Flip Saunders at the helm, the Pistons would somehow lose their defensive identity.

Well, how do you like them now?

The Pistons stand 36-5 today at the midpoint of the season, one of the seven best 41-game starts in NBA history. Only three teams have earned better midseason records.

Here's how the Pistons approach things defensively: It doesn't matter how many points one individual player scores against them, as long as they make the crucial stops down the stretch and they hold the team to 90 or fewer points.

Thus, they have endured a 43-point performance by Tracy McGrady, 41 points from Michael Redd, 37-pointers from Chris Bosh and Zach Randolph and 36 by Elton Brand and come out on the winning end.

Tonight could be a little different. The idea of one player going off against your defense gets a little more attention when that one player is Kobe Bryant, the league's leading scorer.

The Lakers headed out of Los Angeles — almost all of them, anyway — and landed Saturday in Detroit, where they begin their longest trip of the season tonight against the Pistons.

Guard Smush Parker missed the team charter for undisclosed reasons — he was expected to join the team later Saturday — but forward Lamar Odom was on time the morning after arriving late for Friday's game against Golden State.

The Lakers, meanwhile, will play seven games in 11 days, a compact task that starts with the Pistons, who keep rolling along, winning 10 consecutive games to improve to 36-5 and giving chase to the record-setting Chicago Bull team that went 72-10 in 1996.

The Lakers have lost seven of their last eight to the Pistons, including Detroit's five-game victory in the 2004 Finals. The Pistons won handily last season, 103-81 and 111-90, and have not lost to the Lakers in Detroit since January 2002.

It's that time of year again. At the NBA's midway point, it's time to recognize outstanding first-half performances. And these players and coaches have truly been outstanding. The winners are"»

Most Valuable Player: Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons guard.

Runner-up: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns guard

No player does as much with as little recognition. Billups averages mores assists than Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson. He's shooting better from 3-point range than Steve Nash. And his team is on pace to win 70 games.
Billups isn't flashy or controversial. He just gets the job done. He won't be voted in as an All-Star starter, but he's likely to make the team as a reserve. If so, it would be the nine-year veteran's first All-Star appearance.

Rodney Dangerfield joked about it, Aretha Franklin sang about it and on Sunday night Kobe Bryant will be playing for it.

We’re talking respect and it’s something the sportsbooks aren`t giving Bryant as he and the Los Angeles Lakers prepare to take on the Detroit Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills today.

“I`m sending out the Pistons at –8 ½ points with a 194 ½-point total,” says oddsmaker Keith Glantz. “Kobe`s big games are really no big deal unless he consistently, over a period of time, retains that scoring capability.”

It’s wrong to say the books are giving him no respect; after all, the Pistons were 12 ½ point faves on a 185-point total when they met the Kobe-less Lakers at the Palace last season. But shouldn’t a man who is averaging 45.5 points in the past 11 games, including an unreal 81 points just one week ago, be worth more than four points on a spread and 9 ½ points on a total?

Since the start of the 2003-04 season, Detroit has been one of the best NBA teams in the league. My database shows the Pistons a remarkable 173-79 SU and 136-111-5 against the spread (55.0%) over the past three years.

There are plenty of situations within that record that provide even more profit. Keep an eye out when Detroit comes in off a straight up win as an underdog or a favorite of 9 1/2 or less. Amazingly, the Pistons have posted a mind-boggling 69-40-3 ATS record for 63.3 percent in that set.

Those are some incredible numbers and Detroit has certainly hurt the books over the past few years. However, another unique situation has developed over that same time frame that can lead to even more profitable investments. Take a look.

Which Kobe Bryant will show up at The Palace tonight? Will it be the Kobe who garnered national headlines with his mind-boggling 81-point performance last Sunday? Or the Kobe who entered the fourth quarter with a minuscule five points in the Lakers' overtime win Friday? Either way, The Palace will be rockin' when the league's leading scorer squares off against the league's hottest team in a nationally televised game.

Take those ballots and shove 'em off to Sacramento along with Ron Artest's baggage. Tell the coaches to keep their judgments on the reserves to themselves. Give David Stern a pass on picking injury replacements.

Here is what the All-Star rosters should look like. The 85,000 boneheads who chose Michael Olowokandi as the Western Conference's starting center should pay particular notice:

Kobe Bryant is a selfish basketball player. He should golf or play tennis or swim or run track. Bicycle racing might not be too bad for him. That's because Kobe plays basketball as if he wants to be on a mountainside alone wearing the yellow jersey of the Lakers.

I'm not sure what is more remarkable - the 81 points he scored against the Toronto Raptors last week, or the gall he had to actually throw up 46 shots in a game.

Let's dig deeper and investigate what Detroit did, and tried to do, to prevent Kobe from igniting another massive point-explosion: On Sunday, Kobe played 42 minutes, had 39 points on 12-of-28 field goal shooting (12-of-14 in free throws, 3-of-11 from 3-point range), three rebounds and one assist.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson thought it would be a few decades before any team came close to nearing the 70-win mark that his Chicago Bulls team eclipsed in the 1995-96 season.

But at 37-5, the Pistons are on pace to tie that Bulls record-setting mark at 72-10. And Jackson said he thinks the Pistons can do it -- with one condition.

"If they don't have any injuries," he said, "I don't see why they can't. They're playing with a nice rhythm. The guys are young enough and healthy enough. But a couple of injuries changes that really quickly."

AUBURN HILLS -- Two years ago, Detroit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince proved he was a top-notch defender on the largest stage of them all, the NBA Finals, against one of the league's best scorers, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

While Sunday's game against the Lakers didn't have nearly as much riding on it, Prince again harassed Bryant into having a less-than-stellar performance in the second half, one of the keys in the Pistons'102-93 win against the Lakers.

AUBURN HILLS - Phil Jackson believes the Pistons can make a serious run at the Chicago Bulls' single season record for wins.

Jackson coached the 1995-96 Bulls, who won 72 regularseason games before claiming their fourth championship during the Michael Jordan era. He sees a lot of similarities between the clubs because of their defensive mentality, though he feels the Bulls had more ballhandlers and bigger guards.

AUBURN HILLS - The smell of success isn't always sweet, even when the Pistons take some of the bloom off the league's most prolific scorer. When the Pistons retreated to their locker room after their latest victory, a 102-93 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, they were greeted by the stench of a sewage backup in the bathroom area.

While they had to turn up their noses a little bit, there was nothing odoriferous about their performance. They won their season-high 11th straight, leading by as much as 22 in the second half despite an off night for Chauncey Billups.

The math worked out and so did the final score, as the Pistons rolled to a 102-93 victory over the Lakers, with Kobe Bryant having to play every minute of the first half and Lamar Odom lost in an eight-turnover game.

Bryant led all scorers with 39 points on 12-of-28 shooting, while Odom now has totaled 15 turnovers the past two games. As Lakers coach Phil Jackson said afterward, "Some of our players didn't look ready to play tonight."

DETROIT - Even though he straggled in only 45 minutes before tipoff, Lakers forward Lamar Odom at least could say he made it to Staples Center for Friday night's game against the Golden State Warriors.

The same could not be said for guard Smush Parker when it came to the Lakers' flight Saturday morning. Parker missed the team charter and had to pay his for his own seat on a commercial flight to Detroit later in the day.

It was far from the ideal beginning to the Lakers' seven-game road trip, especially for Parker. After scoring 17 points Friday, Parker said he was looking forward to today's game against the Detroit Pistons, the team that released him last January.

More news to come throughout the day!

Be sure to check out our new Article Section, with two pieces by members of this board!!!

The Pistons have become the "Cats" of the NBA. Everybody knows how it ends, but the crowds keep scalpers in business anyway. You might know the destination, but you never know the route.

One of Sunday's amusing sideshows involved appearances by Wayne Fontes, who got cheered, and Lloyd Carr, who got booed. Think about that for a minute. No wonder this town's football psyche is so horribly scarred.

As for the game - another jump ball, another win. Kobe Bryant scored 39, but there was always the feel that even if he scored 81 again, the Pistons weren't losing this one.

Lakers experience third-quarter fizzle
With Lamar Odom committing a season-high eight turnovers, the Lakers fell apart in the third quarter and lost to the league-leading Detroit Pistons in Phil Jackson's first game against them since the 2004 NBA Finals
By KEVIN DING

AUBURN HILLS, MICH. – In what everyone expected to be Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson's last game together in 2004, all hope crashed under the Detroit Pistons' third-quarter avalanche that took their lead over the Lakers from nine points to 23.

DETROIT – Lost in the afterglow of Kobe Bryant's 81-point game was that he came off the court and threw his arms around Lakers coach Phil Jackson, an interaction that many would have deemed inconceivable not that long ago.

Asked about that moment, Bryant said: "When I try to play the game, I try to please him. If he's happy with my performance, it makes me happy, because I learned the game from him."

Jackson jokingly said of the embrace: "I don't like to get sweaty."

~~L.A. Times~~
​

Auburn Chills for Lakers
Their annual visit to the Palace, site of their 2004 Finals meltdown, goes badly as usual, ending in their sixth straight loss to the Pistons, 102-93.
by Mike Bresnahan

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Phil Jackson remembers well the last time he was here.

Clandestine bathroom meetings with the core of the Laker mini-dynasty deep inside a grayish arena. Kids screaming outside the windows of the team hotel in the wee hours of the morning. Meeting with the media for what could have been the last time, four of his kids standing next to him.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Lamar Odom, facilitator, has suddenly become Lamar Odom, fumbler, as his turnovers have almost topped his scoring in recent games.

A key to the offense practically since Coach Phil Jackson returned last June, Odom collected eight turnovers Sunday against Detroit after totaling seven Friday against Golden State. He scored only nine points in each of those games.

Not much has been heard from Dennis Rodman lately, at least in this country. But he apparently can still draw a crowd in England. Rodman, after appearing on a reality television show in that country, played in a basketball game there Saturday.

Rodman reportedly was paid $44,000 to play for the Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League. He scored four points and had seven rebounds in the Bears' 91-88 victory over the Guildford Heat. The game drew a capacity crowd of 1,500 fans — and, according to the Associated Press, 60 journalists.

U.S. wants Billups
Pistons point guard will be invited to play in World Championships and the 2008 Olympics.
By Chris McCosky

It appears, barring any unforeseen snag, Chauncey Billups will have a spot on the U.S. men's basketball team -- if he wants one.

"We want him to play," said Jerry Colangelo, who is in charge of assembling the team that will play in the World Championships this summer, potentially another qualifying tournament in the summer of 2007 and in the Olympics in 2008.

Colangelo said he planned to speak to Billups today. The only concern is a possible conflict this summer. Billups' wife, Piper, is expecting to deliver their third child in July or August.

Hard to believe, but the NBA season has reached the halfway point.
Which means there are less than three months before the real drama -- the playoffs -- begins.

The Pistons still are the class of the league, 37-5 and very much on their way to securing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. But they're showing no signs of growing comfortable during the season's second half.

Despite their torrid pace, "It won't be fun or breathtaking until the end of the season," Rasheed Wallace said.

It's easy to get a little myopic about Dee-troit basket-ball, but yes, the rest of the NBA also is starting to think about the playoffs.

Q. Now that Toronto has fired general manager Rob Babcock, do you think it will make another pitch for John Hammond, vice president of basketball for the Pistons?

A. The Raptors might pitch, but Hammond isn't going to catch. The Raptors were interested in Hammond before they hired Babcock, or at least pretended to be. They told him he was a leading candidate, then interviewed a series of candidates with far fewer credentials than Hammond.It was an insulting thing to do to a guy who had helped build the 2004 Pistons championship team.

As a rule, we don't much go for conspiracy theories in this space. We just try to compile facts and see if we can reach a conclusion.

Fact: The Pistons have always had problems shooting in Utah. They shot 38 percent there earlier this season and have shot under 40 percent dating to 1989. Their record in Utah since then is a not-so-sterling 2-14.

Fact: Many other teams are similarly affected at the Delta Center. The Nets recently shot in the mid-30s and missed 19 of 21 three-pointers.
Afterward, Nets reserve and former Jazz forward Scott Padgett shed some light on perhaps why teams shoot poorly there.

"They over inflate the balls," he told the Newark Star-Ledger. "They have an offense geared toward the layup, so they want your jumpers bouncing out.

Rip's one up on Kobe and wants moreKobe Bryant was asked after losing to the Pistons on Sunday if it felt like he was back at high school with he and Hamilton going at each other.

"Nah, because when we were back in high school, I always won," he said.

Bryant's Lower Merion (Pa.) teams did often beat Hamilton's Coatesville teams. But Hamilton has gotten the better of it the last seven meetings, including three in the NBA Finals in 2004.

"Yeah, the great thing is, he's on the losing end now," Hamilton said.

"When I was in college, he told me, 'You've got a college championship, but I got an NBA championship.' When we beat them (in 2004) I told him, 'Now I am up on you.'

"And, after (Sunday), I am still up."
By Chris McCosky

NBA: RoundupAtkins upstages Yao
Rockets get their center back, but the Grizzlies new starter steals the show in 86-77 victory.
Detroit News wire services

The return of Yao Ming wasn't enough to revive the struggling Rockets.
Chucky Atkins scored 19 points in his first start for the Grizzlies, who defeated Houston, 86-77, on Monday night in Yao's first game in more than a month.

It was only the 15th time this season Yao and leading-scorer Tracy McGrady played together. But the rare pairing wasn't enough for the Rockets to maintain an early burst.

They let the deficit slip to double-digits in the second half, leading to their third straight loss.

"What I've learned is I have the ability to do a lot of things," Saunders said. "When you have guys who have the abilities that our team has, as a coach you can become more flexible, and when you're more flexible you become less predictable. The less predictable you are, the tougher it is to play against you."

That flexibility has shown this season. The Pistons have won close games and blowouts. They've won with defense and with offense. They've won after long periods of time off and in back-to-backs. On the road and at home, with point guard Chauncey Billups scoring 37 or scoring two, and with outside scoring and with post dominance.

Hamilton is averaging career highs in points (21.6) and shooting percentage (50.6).

"It's a great offense, it's a fun offense," said Hamilton, who wore a suit during the postgame interview session after the Pistons' 102-93 win over the Lakers on Sunday. "It's not just you having fun. Everybody's always in the game. It's not like you call a play for Rip and everybody sits around and watches."

The Nets lost four straight games on their recent West Coast trip. But at least they are coming home. Right?

In fact, the Nets might actually want to turn around and head out again when they see who is waiting for them at the Meadowlands - the beasts of the East.

The Nets begin another grueling stretch tonight when they play host to the Pistons, a team that has lost just one more game all season - five - than the Nets lost on their trip. Tomorrow night they play the Cavaliers in Cleveland before returning home to play the Heat on Saturday.

And the stark contrast between the Eastern Conference leaders and their understudies might be shown in a brighter light tonight at Continental Airlines Arena. The Pistons are 37-5 and harbor legitimate thoughts of a 70-win season. The Nets return home after an 0-4 road trip trying to rediscover their defensive intensity.

When much of the free world convenes in Detroit for Super Bowl XL, they'll find an area reeling economically from the latest round of auto-maker layoffs. In other words, the complete opposite to what's transpiring 40 miles out of town, where the Detroit Pistons - using that name rather than their actual home of Auburn Hills, Mich. - are smoothly purring along like something straight off an assembly line.

Switching Larry Brown for Flip Saunders in the driver's seat hardly has caused this machine to sputter. Instead, the Pistons seem to be operating at peak efficiency, entering the week at 37-5, putting them on pace with the 1996 Bulls, who went 72-10.

This week local fans get a chance to see for themselves a team that's making a mockery of the Eastern Conference standings - currently 11 1/2 games ahead of second-place Miami.

If you take it for granted, if you don't watch at least a little closely to savor the strategic nuances, it can get pretty boring.

If you put some of your mind to it, though Hmm, pretty nice.

We're not talking about deep thoughts here - just getting past the fact that no Pistons are glamorous enough that they will be voted All-Star Game starters or that their one compelling personality (Coach Larry Brown) walked out on them for the bright lights and big city.

Can we just think about this much? At a time when the NBA is so much about "No one is giving me my minutes" or "No one is giving me my shots" or "No one is giving me my love," the Pistons just go get victories instead of waiting for time or help or gifts.

The Detroit Pistons are chasing the NBA's all-time record for wins in a single season almost as much as they are chasing the NBA championship.

After 42 games, they are on course to tie the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins.

The Bulls were 39-3 going into the 43rd game while the Pistons are 37-5 going into their 43rd game tonight at New Jersey. The Bulls had a winning percentage of .878 for the season, while the Pistons have a winning percentage of .881.

With Cleveland in the midst of a five-game winning streak, Peja Stojakovic in Indiana, and Riles in charge down in Miami, I'm barely ready to cede the Eastern Conference over to Detroit. ...

Now that I've thought about it a bit, I'm totally ready to cede the Eastern Conference over to Detroit.
Champs

At this point, you're not going to get anywhere trying to describe Detroit's place among the all-time greats. It's a disservice to the team, the greats and basic cable TV in general. The team is so disturbingly efficient, reminding us so little of the flashier champs from years past (even last year's sometimes-snoozing Spurs), that you're better off using some hackneyed comparison to Henry Ford's unceasing assembly line.
Working in time with men and machinery churning, Detroit has hit its target at a success rate of 88.1 percent. That's, uh, a 37-5 record.​